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The Cause of Failure and 
tiou? to Overcome It 


Copyright Applied For 
All Rights Reserved 


Price $1.00 Tlet 





■X 

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APR 17 1918 

©CI.A494646 

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To Illy Friends 

Illr. and Itlrs. Harry H. Qrant 
lUhose kindness will neuer be forgotten and 
whose friendship l esteem above explanation, 
l dedicate this book. 




It’s Worth A Million Dollars 

The thing that goes the farthest toward making 
life worth while, 

That costs the least and does the most, is just a 
pleasant smile. 

The smile that bubbles from a heart that loves its 
fellow men 

Will drive away the clouds of gloom and coax the 
sun again; 

It’s full of worth and goodness, too, with manly 
kindness blent. 

It’s worth a million dollars, and doesn’t cost a cent. 


The Cause of Failure 
and Hou? to Overcome It 

========== or -- ■ = 

IDhy Some People Fail 
IDhile Others Succeed 


Thomas Z. Dauis 

tt 

1918 


Published by 

The American Efficiency movement 

Bloomington, Illinois 








CONTENTS 



Page 


Open the Gate . 9 

The Vision . 29 

Realize Your Dreams.34 

Claim Success Now.37 

Do Your Best.39 

The Key.42 

All Things are Possible..47 

Dream and Build.51 


Afterword 


59 











FOREWORD 


T HAS been scientifically proven that 
^ I it is impossible to get any one to put 
forth much of an effort to obtain a 
thing that he cannot see some real value in or 
need of. We know that aspiration is the fore¬ 
runner of work and work is the foundation up¬ 
on which ability must be built. Knowing that 
it is impossible for anyone to fill a position 
above his ability, I send out this little book; 
hoping that it may be like the wicket hole in the 
door that shuts a man out from the many pre¬ 
cious and valuable things the world has in store 
for him. May he be able to peep through this 
wicket hole and see those treasures, and may his 
ambition be so aroused to obtain them that he 
will never be satisfied until he has found the 
key that will unlock the door. Believing this 
book will help you find the key, 

I beg to remain, 

Thomas Z. Davis. 


























































- 
















































HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


9 


Open the Gate 

“How dear to my heart are the scenes of my child¬ 
hood, 

When fond recollection presents them to view. 
The wide-spreading pond, the deep-tangled wild- 
wood, 

And every loved spot that my infancy knew.” 

A T the old country homestead when I was 
a mere tot of a boy, my father made 
and hung a tall gate that guarded the 
entrance between the lawn and the barn yard. 
It was fastened by a ten-inch button at the top 
of a post that only an adult could very well 
reach. This means that was inaccessible for 
a small child to open the gate, was the occasion 
of many a plaintive appeal from my sister and 
me of “Papa, please open the gate.” 

That old gate, older and more used than 
any other on the old home place has, to my 
knowledge, outlasted every other that was ever 
built and hung there. 

Could that gate be gifted with the powers of 
speech, many would be the reminiscences it 
could tell. It was too tall, however, for sweet- 


There are two great powers that are trying to 
direct the ways of every man. Be careful that you 
don’t accept the wrong directions. 




10 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


hearts to swing thereon, while lingering to bid 
each other the late evening’s farewell, and pos¬ 
sibly, therefore, less of the sentimental side of 
life with its poetic fancy has figured in its his¬ 
tory. 

Many are the unbidden intruders who would 
have passed its portals. I remember an old 
brindle cow we used to have that was quite 
adept in opening this gate with her horns. A 
horse, too, we used to have which I thought 
could open the gate with his nose about as quick¬ 
ly as could my father with his hand. This the 
horse would do frequently to eat the luscious 
grass of the lawn. And the indispensable mule 
was represented by one that seemed to me to be 
possessed of the spirit of his Satanic Majesty. 
This one when loose in the barn yard seemed 
bent on eating up the panels of the gate while 
not otherwise engaged in pawing and trying to 
break it down. Whenever this mule gained en¬ 
trance he was not content with eating the juicy 
grass that was so abundant in the lawn, but rath¬ 
er seemed to enjoy breaking down the shrubbery 


It is only when good habits exist that prin¬ 
ciples can exert an ennobling influence. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


11 


and barking the trees. Pigs used to root under 
this old gate, chickens flew over it, and even an 
old yellow dog we once had could wedge his 
way through it from the inside while it was 
latched. 

When I grew old enough to do so, I would 
climb the fence beside the gate, turn the button, 
get down again, go through, only to repeat this 
performance on the other side to close it. Later 
on I had a stick placed beside the gate that I 
would use to whack the button first one way 
and then the other till it opened. This stick, 
which was my key, my father would sometimes 
hurl at some malicious beast that was seeking 
unbidden entrance. When I grew to adolescence 
I could reach the button from the under side 
and thus could gain entrance or exit as I chose. 
But when I became a man, I could reach over 
the gate and open it as did my father. 

Three fences have been built up on either 
side of this gate. Two have rotted away, while 
the old gate, still in use, bids fair to outlast the 
third one. 


Fortune will call at the gate of him who smiles 
and works. 




12 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


This old gate that was made and hung in 
1878, has outlived all the beasts of the field 
and the fowls of the air that sought unwelcome 
passage through it, over it or under it. And 
the tiny child hands of an innocent brother and 
sister that tried it, are long since those of a 
grown man and woman. Childhood days have 
passed away and no longer is heard that plain- 
tive little appeal of “Papa, please open the 
gate.” But like Shakespeare who causes the 
Duke to soliloquize in “As You Like It,” when 
living close to nature, so I too am one who 

“Finds tongues in trees, 

Books in running brooks, 

Sermons in stones, 

And good in everything.” 

This vision of boyhood days reveals to me a 
lesson. The simple commonplace object of the 
old gate at my homestead, has in late years pre¬ 
sented to me some of the true realities of life. 
And as the kind directing words of a good 
father and mother come back to us, so too, the 
sweet messages of our early environment come 
back to us also. And the gate which could not 


Praise loudly, blame softly. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


13 


talk, yet speaks to me, and its message to me is 
what I want to give to you. 

A gate is a movable barrier. If it were not 
movable it would be as the fence we cannot 
climb or as the wall we cannot scale. It would 
be as the mountain we cannot ascend or as the 
river we cannot cross. Why, then, called a 
barrier at all? A barrier to the unwelcome; 
to the unworthy. The gate is not a barrier to 
the welcome guest, but stands as the guardian 
of the guest, a barrier to the unwelcome in¬ 
truder. 

Opportunity is the gate that points to the way 
of success. If we would win the race of life 
that leads to the way of success, we must open 
the gate of opportunity ourselves. If the gate 
stood ever open, it would not be doing the 
service of a gate. If passage through the gate¬ 
way were perfectly free and unobstructed, then 
he who passes in would have no more credit 
than he who chooses to remain without. But to 
him who overcomes barriers and surmounts ob- 


There is no bigger shirk than the man who 
never does anything to help answer his own prayers. 




14 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


stacks, we take off our hats and acknowledge 
him as a victor. A gate then is a barrier to him 
only who would not try to push aside the barrier 
or overcome obstacles. For anyone with an 
honest purpose who asks the way to success is 
shown the gate of opportunity. It is his to open, 
will he do it? 

Schools are the highways to success, while an 
“education is the preparation for complete liv- 
mg. 

What means the vast expenditure for educa¬ 
tion from year to year? Why are thousands, 
yea, millions of dollars more invested this year 
in education than were invested last year ? The 
answer is, because it pays. 

If a groceryman starting in business three 
years ago lost $500 the first year, $500 the 
second, and is still losing this year, how long 
will he be expected to continue in business? 
He would likely have quit the grocery business 
at the end of the first year. But as long as it 
pays and pays big , he continues in that business. 


Most men flatter themselves that they cannot be 
fooled by their fellows, but they are fooling them¬ 
selves by supposing that they can fool others. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


16 


Education, beyond all other devices of human 
origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of 
men—the balance wheel of the social machinery. 

—Horace Mann. 

In our industrial, social, civic and religious de¬ 
mocracy everything waits on education. No real 
progress and no lasting improvement in any line of 
life is possible except through the better education 
of the people. 

—Philander P. Claxton. 

Statistics show that the illiterate and unskilled 
laborer will make $ 18,000 within the space of 
40 years, or from the age of 20 to 60. The 
same statistics also show that for a man to go 
through a good four-year first class high school 
he will make, in the same period of time, $40,- 
000. This makes a difference of $22,000 in 
favor of the high school educated man. And to 
complete the high school from first grade 
through the twelfth grade, requires the boy to 
have attended 2,200 days of school. If this 
number be divided into $22,000 (the net gain 
in income of the educated man over the illiter¬ 
ate), we find the number contained 10 times, 
thus showing that a school day is worth $ 10 in 
after life to every boy who attends that length 


The devil’s way of trying to whiten his own face 
is to try to blacken everybody else. 





16 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


of time. But this is simply discussing the im¬ 
portance of education only from a commercial 
standpoint. 

Who’s Who in their statistical calculations 
make a graphical representation of the import¬ 
ance of acquiring an education from another 
point of view. They tell us that if we repre¬ 
sent the illiterate’s chances for success in life by 
a line, we can use one 1-80 inch long, or one 
equal to the thickness of a U. S. postal card. 
Then since the individual who completes the 
common school course or the 8th grade has 80 
times better chances for success in life than does 
the illiterate individual, the line therefore, rep¬ 
resenting his chances for success in life is one 
inch long. The person who completes a four 
year high school course has his chances for 
success in life represented by a line 22 inches 
long. And for the boy who completes a four 
year College or University course, the line rep¬ 
resenting his chances for success in life is 18 
feet or 216 inches long. Thus we find the 


He has no principal in heaven who has no inter¬ 
est in humanity. 




HOW TO OVERCOME I m 


17 


common school graduate has 80 times the 
chances for success in life that the illiterate man 
has. The high school graduate has 22 times 
better chances for success in life than the com¬ 
mon school graduate has, or 1720 times the 
chance for success in life that the illiterate man 
has. The college or university graduate has 
practically 10 times the chance for success in 
life that the high school graduate has; over 200 
times the chance the 8th grade graduate has, 
and 1 7,000 times the chance for success in life 
that the illiterate man has. 

These points have been carefully worked out 
in a statistical way and prove the real value of 
an education. 

Going back to Herbert Spencer’s definition 
of education as being a preparation for com¬ 
plete living, we find it necessary to explain 
more fully the term, “complete living.’* And 
to illustrate this point I must explain the dif¬ 
ference between making a life and making a 
living. First, from a national point of view. 


The man who always is figuring for himself cuts 
a poor figure at last. 




18 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


You all know the story of ancient Carthage. 
Her fleets plied the seas, were masters of the 
deep and carried on commerce with every 
known nation of the world. Her daring sail¬ 
ors even penetrated the wilds of Britain and 
there worked the tin mines of that far-away isle. 
On the north coast of Africa she built her 
mighty city of wealth, and for two centuries 
was the rival of Rome. But when Rome con¬ 
quered her, and Scipio Africanus drove the 
plow over her leveled wall, all but the memory 
of this once mighty nation was gone. No litera¬ 
ture, art or song was bequeathed to civilization 
as its heritage, but the great everlasting truth 
stood emblazoned on her tombstone that Carth¬ 
age had made a living but had not made a 
life. 

There next is Poland, that wonderful 
country of patriots which was partitioned by 
Russia, Prussia and Austria because of their 
greed for territorial acquisition. Yet, that 
country which once was, but now is no longer, 


The best way for one to help himself is by help¬ 
ing others, for all we receive comes from others. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


19 


an independent nation, has given us her art, 
story and song. America well remembers her 
Count Pulaski and Kosciusko who aided us in 
our struggle for national independence. She 
has given to the world Henryk Sienkiewicz, 
that great novelist, and Paderewski, the world’s 
famous pianist. Truly, therefore, Poland has 
made a life, but could not make a living. 

Then there is “Greece, lovely Greece, the 
land of scholars and song.’* Here we have still 
an independent nation that has given the world 
her literature, philosophy, art and song that 
yet are models in our present civilization. She 
has given the nations the greatest heritage of all 
ages. Surely, then Greece has made both a life 
and a living. 

Second, from an individual standpoint, I 
would again cite you to three examples: 

There is Russell Sage, who made his millions 
and stowed them away with miserly intent and 
purpose. It was he, who once when an an¬ 
archist entered his office with a satchel in hand. 


Study to show thyself approved of God, a work¬ 
man that needeth not to be ashamed. 




20 


THE CAUSE OP FAILURE 


and said, “Give me a million dollars or else I 
will drop this satchel filled with dynamite which 
will blow up this office and kill us all,” that 
refused the demand, grabbed his faithful secre¬ 
tary and used him as a shield between himself 
and danger. The satchel was dropped, the ex¬ 
plosion occurred, the anarchist was killed, the 
secretary crippled, but Mr. Sage got off with 
but slight injuries. Then instead of paying his 
secretary a liberal pension for life, he paid him 
nothing, discharged him because of physical in¬ 
ability, was afterwards sued by the secretary 
for damages, but won the defence because he 
had more money to defend the suit than the 
secretary had with which to prosecute it. No 
wonder that Mr. Sage was so thoroughly hated 
by his employees after that incident. This, then 
is certainly a most vivid example of a man who 
made a living but who did not make a life. But 
thanks for his estimable wife, who has launched 
the “Russell Sage Foundation Fund,” the 
means of working a study and investigation of 
our country’s many needs. Mrs. Sage will help 
retrieve their tarnished family name. 


Never depend upon genius; if you have talent, 
industry will improve it; if you have none, industry 
will supply the deficiency. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


21 


There is next, Edgar Allen Poe, that poetic 
genius who gave us the Raven, The Bells, and 
Beautiful Annabel Lee, together with many 
other great selections from his magic pen. His 
contributions are a priceless heritage to Ameri¬ 
can literature. His private life and habits, 
however, were anything but models. And 
when his light went out and the records closed, 
it showed Poe had made a life, but had not 
made a living. 

Next is that character that glows so brightly 
on the pages of American History—the name 
of George Washington. I need not recall his 
virtues, for you know only too well the beau¬ 
tiful story of his life. Surely, if anyone we 
could name, we would certainly agree that 
Washington made both a life and a living 

But I would not discourage the young Amer¬ 
ican boy with the thought that there was or ever 
will be only one Washington. There are 


Of all felicities, the most charming is that of a 
firm and gentle friendship. It sweetens all our 
cares, dispels our sorrows, and counsels us in all 
extremities. 




22 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


Washingtons in every community. He who 
meets and discharges all the duties of true 
citizenship is making both a life and a living— 
is in a sense living the life of a Washington. 
The man who doesn’t forget general election 
day and goes forth to exercise his blood-bought 
privilege of franchise, is performing the re¬ 
sponsible duty of a good citizen and is making 
a life as well as a living. He who openly es¬ 
pouses the moral side of all public questions, 
who ministers to his neighbor in sickness and 
gives aid and comfort to the unfortunate, he it 
is who is the Washington of your community 
and is making a life as well as a living. 

Thus have we tried to explain what are some 
of the elements of complete living and to show 
that education is the gate of opportunity leading 
to that complete enjoyment and satisfaction that 
should be the life of every good citizen. Every 
boy and girl can attain that degree and pur¬ 
pose in life if he will but use his or her own ef- 


There is no friend like the old friend who has 
shared our morning days, 

No greeting like his welcome, no homage like his 
praise. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


23 


forts to open the gate that education has placed 
along the highway of youth. 

For that reason it behooves us to constantly 
keep before them the great examples in litera¬ 
ture, history and story of the lives of those who 
attained greatness, usefulness and goodness be¬ 
cause they opened the gate and walked into the 
green pastures, there to live and dwell with 
those who will become good and great. 

We hold up to view the examples of Wash¬ 
ington, Jefferson, Webster, Clay, Lincoln and 
Garfield, who opened the gate of opportunity. 
These distinguished national characters who 
made both a life and a living, were not reared 
within the inclosure where eternal success re¬ 
sides, but they had to battle against the odds of 
life and open the way toward the goal that 
made them great. 

In the union station at St. Joseph, Missouri, 
there used to be a man in charge of the infor¬ 
mation bureau, who could tell you anything you 


Fame is the scentless sunflower, with gaudy crown 
of gold; 

But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets 
in every fold. 




24 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


would care to know about train service. He 
had been there for many years, and though then 
an expert in his line, he drew only a meagre 
salary. He told a friend of mine that he had 
many times been offered far better positions 
than the one he then commanded, yet he had 
to refuse them all because he did not have the 
education to fill them. When I again saw this 
man after hearing this story I realized that he 
was indeed in a prison house. He chose when 
a boy to “take a job’’ rather than to go on to 
school and thus equip himself for a constant 
promotion. He had allowed the gate of oppor¬ 
tunity to close with himself on the outside, only 
to no longer be a gate but an everlasting barrier 
between himself and the full enjoyments of 
complete living. 

The great desire to become rich or to become 
independent has a most alluring effect on our 
young people either to leave school before com¬ 
pleting a course or to enter some get-educated- 


He who has conferred a kindness should be silent, 
he who has received one should speak of it. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


25 


quick school that in the end will neither give 
them brains nor prepare them to earn a liveli¬ 
hood. No wonder we have so many failures in 
life and in business among persons of this type. 
They never opened wide the gate that leads to 
real success in life; they just opened it a little 
and simply peeped in and thought they were m 
the promised land. They took what they 
thought was a short cut to success and were try¬ 
ing to rob time of the reward it holds for him 
who sticks till he completes the job. Even the 
Great Teacher tells us that “He that entereth 
not by the door (or gate) into the sheep fold, 
but climbeth up some other way, the same is a 
thief and a robber.” What does he steal and 
whom does he rob? He steals from himself 
that preparation and equipment that fit him for 
usefulness in life and robs society of his better 
services as a citizen. 

I would here warn you against the get-edu- 
cated-quick schools as readily as I would warn 
you against the get-rich-quick schemes that are 


Kind hearts are more than coronets, and simple 
faith than Norman blood. 




26 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


so enticing today. These schools have no real 
gates, for their doors stand ajar. And like the 
mushroom in nature, that comes up in a night, 
but withers in the heat and light of the sun, so 
the mushroom education of the get-educated- 
quick kind will not stand the searchlight and 
heat of business life, but withers and leaves 
stranded the individual who is made a derelict 
in society. 

Scripture tells us, “Enter ye in at the strait 
gate, for Wide is the gate and broad is the 
way that leadeth to destruction, and many there 
be which go in thereat: Because strait is the 
gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth into 
life, and few there be that find it.” 


The way of a fool is right in his own eyes; but 
he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. 

We lead but one life here on earth, we must 
make that beautiful. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


2? 


I am glad that my life’s work is that where¬ 
by I have helped to open the gate of oppor¬ 
tunity for many a boy and girl. And what is 
opportunity ? Ah, 

“Master of human destinies am I! 

Fame, Love and Fortune on my footsteps wait, 
Cities and fields I walk; I penetrate 
Deserts and seas remote, and, passing by 
Hovel and mart and palace, soon or late 
I knock unbidden once at every gate! 

If sleeping, wake—if feasting rise, before 
I turn away. It is the hour of fate, 

And they who follow me reach every state 
Mortals desire, and conquer every foe 
Save death; but those who doubt or hesitate, 
Condemned to failure, penury and woe, 

Seek me in vain and uselessly implore. 

I answer not, and I return no more.” 

So I would press on my way to the goal of 
success and when I had reached that walled city 
wherein awaits the reward of those who strive 
to enter therein, and stood beside the gate of 
opportunity, I would sing that beautiful lan¬ 
guage of the psalmist, 

“Lift up your heads, O ye gates: 

And be ye lift up ye everlasting doors; 

And let your humble servant come in.” 


Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, 
for that is the stuff life is made of. 




28 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


And when we have finished our earthly 
tasks assigned us; when our obligations as man 
toward man have ended; when we shall have 
ascended that mount of Zion where dwells the 
Celestial City with its pearly gates, I hope the 
Great Father on high will hear our humble plea 
and grant this last petition as did my earthly 
father years ago when I called, 

“Please open the gate, Father, please open 
the gate/* 


Good thoughts and actions can never produce 
bad results. 

Self reverence, self knowledge, self control; 
these three alone lead life to sovereign power. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


29 


The Vision 

GREAT sculptor noticed a piece of 



/A stone that had been rejected and thrown 
aside by the builders. In the stone he 
saw a beautiful angel; he chiseled the stone 
away and revealed the angel to the world. I 
want, if I can, to get you to look into the future 
and see yourself a beautiful, successful char¬ 
acter, and after getting the vision, reveal that 
character to the world. 

“Live for something, have a purpose, 

And that purpose keep in view. 

Drifting like a helmless vessel, 

Thou canst ne’er to life be true. 

Half the wrecks that strew life’s ocean, 

If some star had been their guide, 

Might have now been riding safely, 

But they drifted with the tide. 

One ship sails east, another west, 

By the selfsame winds that blow— 

’Tis the set of the sail and not the gale, 

That determines the way they go.” 

“Like the waves of the sea are the ways of fate, 
As we journey along through life, 

’Tis the set of the soul that determines the goal, 
And not the calm or strife.” 


I’d rather be a could be, 

If I could not be an are; 


For a could be is a may be, 

With a chance of touching par. 




30 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


Develop your push and your pull will take 
care of itself. 

“Push and the gate will open, seek and you’ll 
surely find; 

For the man worth while wears a sunny smile, 

With hustle and vim behind.” 

“Only through the hard gates where struggle 
gives her challenge and adversity demands her 
toll, is there entrance to the valleys of achieve¬ 
ment and the kingdoms of delight, from which 
the highways lead to the summits of the divine 
hills and the serene contentment of the stars.” 

Let thy every word and act be perfect truth, 
uttered in genuine love. Let not the forms of 
business, or the conventional arrangements of 
society reduce thee to falsehood. Be true to 
thyself, be true to thy friend, be true to the 
world. Think of yourself as on the threshold 
of unparalleled success. A whole clear glorious 
life lies before you. Get a vision. 

“Where there is no vision the people perish.” 
—Prov. 29:18. 


I’d rather be a could be, 

If I could not be an are; 

For a could be is a may be, 

With a chance of touching par. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


31 


To vision means to create in the imagination. 
Get an exact and definite mental picture, image, 
vision, of the ultimate end and aim of your life. 
Select the particular position you propose to 
reach. Picture yourself also as surrounded by 
and having the present use of all the good 
things that naturally go with the position se¬ 
lected. Be very definite about this, and do not 
be too modest. Let it be something well worth 
years of patient struggle to attain. Decide 
definitely that you will attain it, no matter what 
the effort or time required. Then hold to that 
vision; keep it always before you like a distant 
beacon light; have a steady hand at the wheel; 
strive for it persistently and continuously; and 
when the seas are foggy, have faith that it 
is there to be reached, even though you cannot 
for the moment see it. Never let it slip from 
your sub-conscious thought. Live by it. Be¬ 
lieve that you are attaining it. “Believe that 
ye receive.” Great men do hold fast to their 
visions. That is why they are great. Some 
writer has said that few men make the voyage 


I'd rather he a has been 

Than a might have been, by far; 

For a might have been has never been, 
But a has been was once an are. 




32 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


of life successfully, and fewer still reach the 
port for which they sailed. Lowell says, “Most 
men make the voyage of life as if they carried 
sealed orders which they were not to open until 
they were in mid-ocean.” That is the trouble. 
They do not sail for any port. They simply 
sail. 

“Think well of yourself, not in vanity's way, 

But think of yourself every hour of the day; 

Think enough of yourself not to lie or to cheat 
Or to sell out your honor to ward off defeat. 
Think enough of yourself not to lower your aim, 
Think too much of yourself to be tainted with 
shame. 

When tempted to stoop for some things which men 
boast, 

Oh, let it be said that you loved yourself most. 
Self is the sacredest treasure men hold; 

So value it more than great fortunes of gold; 

Let nothing of victory, glory or pelf 
Belittle the value you place in yourself." 


Not in some great deed does greatness lie, 

But in the brave, frank meeting, face to face, 
Of all the thousand little things, that try 
The soul’s true temper for a higher place. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


33 


FIGHT FAIR 

“It is better to lose with conscience clean 
Than to win by trick unfair; 

It is better to fall and know you’ve been, 

Whatever the prize was, square, 

Than to claim the joy of a faroff goal 
And the cheers of the standers-by, 

And to know down deep in your inmost soul 
A cheat you must live and die. 

Who wins by trick may take the prize, 

And at first he may think it sweet, 

But many a day in the future lies 

When he’ll wish he had met defeat. 

For the man who lost shall be glad at heart 
And walk with his head up high. 

While his conqueror knows he must play the part 
Of a cheat and a living lie. 

The prize seems fair when the fight is on; 

But, save it is truly won, 

You’ll hate the thing when the crowds are gone, 
For it stands for a false deed done. 

And it’s better you never should reach the goal 
Than ever success to buy, 

At the price of knowing down in your soul 
That your glory is all a lie.” 


Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of 
wisdom. 




34 


THE CAUSE OP FAILURE 


Realize Your Dreams 

“True worth is in being, not seeming, 

In doing each day tha goes by 

Some little good, not dreaming 

Of great things to do bye and bye. 

“No matter what one says in fancy, 

And in spite of the follies of youth, 

There’s nothing so kingly as kindness, 

And nothing so royal as truth. 

“We cannot make bargains for blisses, 

Nor catch them like fishes in nets, 

And sometimes the thing our life misses. 

Helps more than the things which it gets.” 

Oh, for the visions of youth! How beauti¬ 
ful, how inspiring they are! The girl child 
visions herself a princess, married to a king. 
The boy child visions himself a master among 
men, at the head of great enterprises. And 
they are both right. They would realize their 
visions, too, if they would but hold fast to them. 
George Horace Lorimer while but an office boy 
for Armour & Co., had a vision of himself as a 
great journalist. George W. Perkins, sweeping 
out a small insurance office in Indiana, saw in 
himself a great financier. Judge Donovan of 


The heights by great men reached and kept 
Were not attained by sudden flight; 

But they, while their companions slept, 

Were toiling upward in the night. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


35 


Wisconsin saw a vision of the great good he 
might do as a lawyer when at forty he left his 
blacksmith’s forge to seek an education at the 
University of Wisconsin. Senator Gore imaged 
himself a great statesman when as a blind boy 
he learned the pages of the Congressional Rec¬ 
ord by heart. Carnegie visioned himself a king 
among men when in middle life he gave up a 
division superintendency of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad in order to study under a private tutor 
in New York City. Lord Charles Russell pic¬ 
tured himself Chief Justice of England a good 
while before he closed his little green grocery 
in London, at forty two, in order to take up the 
study of law. Lincoln saw himself cutting the 
shackles from the slaves when, as a poor river- 
man, he beheld an auction in New Orleans. 
Napoleon imagined himself ruler of all Europe 
while yet living in a garret in Paris. Welling¬ 
ton won the battle of Waterloo while playing 
cricket as a school boy at Eton. 

Sheldon says, “A man who plans for a day 
is blind, one who plans for a year is a general, 


The men who have most powerfully influenced tht 
world have not been so much men of genius as 
men of strong convictions, invincible determination 
and enduring capacity for work. 




36 


THE CAUSE OP FAILURE 


one who plans for a lifetime is a genius, and one 
who plans for future generations is a seer or 
prophet.” 

The devil is the arch briber. He offers you 
a night with “the boys,” two dances a week, 
or the more idiotic excuse that you need recre¬ 
ation, in turn for the future Governorship, Cor¬ 
poration Presidency, steam yacht, honor, lux¬ 
ury, ease, or great usefulness. 

The Vision that you glorify in your mind, the 
Ideal that you enthrone in your heart, this you 
will build your life by, this you will become. 
And you, if you have not the vision, will suc¬ 
cumb. If you are not what you would be, act 
as you would act if you were what you would 
be. These actions will become habitual, then 
you will be what you would be. Genius con¬ 
sists but in the utilization of the true thoughts, 
right ideas, correct habits, inspiring ideals, and 
useful experiences of others. But in this imita¬ 
tion be sincere and real, be yourself. Do not 
accept from others as true what does not con¬ 
note with your own innermost feelings. 


Everywhere the call is sounding for men, men 
with clear heads and clean hearts, men who dare 
to nail a lie and tell a truth. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


37 


Claim Success Now 

“Character is self-sufficing-ness.” Learn 
tc claim success as yours now, to expect it and 
be thankful for it in the present, as one who 
receives. Be conscious that your desire is ex¬ 
pression of power, original creative force with¬ 
in you, seeking to be, and live more in and 
through you, and know that nothing except will¬ 
ful neglect on your part can prevent the desired 
result. Then you will be thankful because you 
will know that success is at hand, because you 
have a living faith. Faith makes it possible for 
us to do today the things which yesterday doubt 
said were impossible. Doubts fan the fear 
flame and good is lost by failure to attempt. 

Wisdom, by use, grows into greater power; 
Humility is the saving quality of wisdom’s 
greatness. Practice on yourself what you 
preach to your neighbor and both you and your 
neighbor will profit thereby. Our destiny 
changes with our thought; we shall become 
what we wish to become, do what we wish to 
do, when our habitual thought corresponds with 
our desire. The ‘divinity that shapes our ends* 
is in ourselves; it is our very self. Your 


I must stand with anybody that stands right; 
stand with him while he is right and part with him 
when he goes wrong.—Lincoln. 




38 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


thought starts all things coming your way, but 
you must give more in service value than you 
receive in cash value, or you cannot receive all 
that is coming and that you might receive. 

Retain your vision, stick to your purpose, 
give good service, maintain your faith and be 
thankful for the opportunity to pay your in¬ 
stallment today and therefore enjoy today. 
Finally pick out the best man ahead of you in 
the race that you know personally, as far ahead 
as possible, as an exemplar, and study and work 
to excel him in all things, not in his, but in your 
own way. Keep at it until you do excel him. 
Then select another exemplar still farther on 
and repeat the process. Success is in some 
measure a game of “follow the leader.” But 
in the character and individuality of your fol¬ 
lowing be yourself. “The wise man not only 
leaves out of his thought the many, but leaves 
out the few.” After a time you will awake some 
morning to find that you yourself are the leader. 
But all this demands study, which is the hard¬ 
est kind of work at the start, but the most en¬ 
joyable and easiest to keep up once the habit 
is formed. 

Who misses or who wins the prize, 

Go lose or conquer, as you can; 

But, if you fall, or if you rise, 

Be each, pray God, a gentleman. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


39 


Do Your Best 

A man is relieved and gay when he has put 
his heart into his work and done his best. Do, 
without being told to do. For he who fears he 
will do more than he gets paid for never gets 
paid for more than he does. The best way for 
one to raise his salary or income is to raise his 
work, the only way one can raise his work is 
by raising his ability. Know your business. It 
is those who keep ahead that attract attention. 
It is to no man’s credit that he trails along with 
the procession; the fellow who goes out in front, 
whether plodding his way through the forest 
or in the conduct of a business is the fellow to be 
commended. One employee of a concern won¬ 
ders why it is that another employee is promot¬ 
ed. He has done his work faithfully, he will 
tell you; he has kept up with the affairs of the 
concern, and he cannot understand why any one 
else connected with it should be selected when 
promotions are due. But the chances are that 
the one selected for promotion has not been sat- 


The only thing about you that makes you worth 
your keep in this high priced world is your per¬ 
sonality. Meaning the sum total of the things 
wherein you differ from the common run of hu¬ 
manity. 




40 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


isfied to keep up with the business of the con¬ 
cern, that he has gotten ahead of it, away out in 
front where the vision is unobstructed. He was 
not content merely to keep up, and the reward 
came to him. 

Bill had been foreman for a lumber company 
for several years. The superintendent resigned. 
John was promoted to the place over Bill’s 
head. Bill was indignant and went to the 
president. The president said he would con¬ 
sider the matter, and asked Bill to go down to 
the lake and see if a new raft of logs had come 
in. Bill soon returned and said, “Yes.” 

“Who are they from?” asked the president. 
Bill did not know and was sent to find out. 

“From Ogden & Co.,” Bill reported. 

“What kind of logs are they?” Again Bill 
did not know. Another trip was necessary, 
with the report that they were poplar. 

“What will they run?” Once more Bill had 
to go back. He returned with the statement 


YOU will never be a leader as long as you follow 
the crowd. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


41 


that they would average from twelve to fifteen 
feet in length and from twelve to eighteen 
inches in diameter. 

The president then called John in and asked 
him, in the presence of Bill, to see if a new raft 
had come in. Without the necessity of a trip 
John answered immediately, “Yes, a new raft 
is in from Ogden & Co., poplar, running twelve 
to fifteen feet by twelve by eighteen inches, 
about fifty thousand feet.” Bill saw the point. 


Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, 
but are unwilling to improve themselves. 

By the right choice and true application of 
thought, man ascends to the Divine Perfection. 




42 


THE CAUSE OP FAILURE 


The Key 

Every failure, large or small, is due to some 
sin of omission or to some sin of commission. 
You can avoid both of these by care and 
thought, by using your key. The road to large 
success is long, tortuous and various. It is for¬ 
tified by many gates, one at every crook and 
turn. These gates are all securely locked. Each 
gate is the special opportunity of the moment. It 
requires the alertness to see, the preparation to 
act, the will and the skill to perform efficiently, 
and the speed to get through before death over¬ 
takes you. The difficulty of seeing, the amount 
and quality of the preparation for action, the 
force of will and determination, the character of 
the skill required, the magnitude of the task, all 
are in direct proportion to the greatness of the 
opportunity. 

You cannot go around one of these gates. If 
you do you get off the road to success. Suc¬ 
cess consists in traveling this road, in passing 
through all these gates. Large success is there¬ 
fore the summation of a series of acts, each ef- 


You are never so apt to get the position that the 
other fellow can fill better than you, as you are to 
get the one that you can fill better than the other 
fellow. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


43 


ficiently done. These gates are all impassable 
except by unlocking. Each swings on peculiar 
springs which force it wide open the moment it 
is unlocked, and which close it tightly immedi¬ 
ately after the fortunate man with the key slips 
through. Only one person may pass each time 
a gate is unlocked, and this person must unlock 
the gate himself and carry through with him the 
means by which he did it. Each gate is secured 
by a burglar proof automatic lock, which may 
be unlocked only with the key to success. 

This key to success has four projections. All 
are of equal importance; each is absolutely 
necessary and all must act in conjunction. Each 
projection turns a little tumbler in the lock on 
any of the gates. Lacking any one projection 
the key will not operate the lock on any gate. 
Moreover, if any projection is imperfect, it will 
fail to turn some tumbler in the lock of some of 
the gates. The perfect key with all projections 
perfect, is a pass key. All the gates fly open 
whenever this key is turned in their locks. If 
you possess this wonderful pass key you need 
not hesitate to use it. It grows more and more 


Inefficiency sometimes tries to pass itself off as 
“hard luck.” 




44 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


perfect with use. You may go as far as you 
like towards success with this key. Any old 
key will let you through, going in the opposite 
direction. The names of these four projec¬ 
tions are: 

Vision, Education, Exertion and Rulership. 

Taken in order the first letters of these names 
spell VEER. The whole key is therefore 
called the “VEER KEY.” The one who 
possesses this key may always veer toward 
large success, indeed, will always veer toward 
success whenever this key is used. For all gates 
unlocked with this key lead to success. The 
universe fortunately abounds in material of 
which these four projections are made. These 
materials are the stuff of which men, not things, 
are made. Each person may fashion his own 
key. You may fashion yours. But you must 
look within yourself for these materials. You 
cannot take them from others. Where you do 
not at first find them you must manufacture, or 
develop them. 


Your job is to see that your opportunity does not 
pass you by. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


45 


Look therefore I vithin. Seek diligently to 
develop and perfect within yourself the ma¬ 
terials for these Projections, the forms of them, 
and the USE of the whole Key. 

All you need is the overmastering purpose 
to possess a VEER key of your own. Any 
one can launch the boat of his life upon the 
stream of time and move right off without effort, 
but it takes work to move up stream. 


If you wish success in life, make perseverance 
your bosom friend, experience your wise counsel¬ 
lor, caution your elder brother, and hope your 
guardian genius. 




46 


THE CAUSE OP FAILURE 


THE UP STREAMERS 
“There’s no honor, lads, in drifting 
Where the shore lights softly gleam, 

But the real work lies in toiling, 

Bravely pulling up the stream. 

Some may sit with their hands folded; 

Some may talk while others dream; 

But the ones who’re worth the making, 
They are pulling up the stream. 

Some are lost while simply waiting 
For the harbor’s kindly gleam 
Others gain the day by working, 

Bravely pulling up the stream.” 

— (Thomas B. Smith.) 


He who has conquered doubt and fear has con¬ 
quered failure. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


47 


All Things are Possible 

Kites rise against the wind. Live fishes go 
up stream. Gravity contributes nothing to the 
flight of a bird. Drifting objects have no pre¬ 
scribed destination and are more liable to have 
bad companionship or undesirable co-operation. 

There is only one original fundamental prin¬ 
ciple, it operates in absolutely the same way 
everywhere, all other principles and laws are but 
corollaries. There is therefore, an absolute 
analogy between all truths in the four worlds: 
the electrical, the chemical, the physical, and 
the thought worlds. And since we can study, 
learn, perceive and understand all principles 
and laws in the first three worlds, we can in the 
fourth. We can therefore put ourselves in tune 
with the infinite, in harmony with our environ¬ 
ment. We can prevent therefore and thereby 
the infringement of any general principles or 
laws. This assures large success. You owe it 
to yourself to believe always that the highest 
and best things are not only possible for you, 
but that they are actually intended for you. 


Don’t quit till the hearse comes around. 




48 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


that they will come to you if you but do your 
part. The man who values himself low re¬ 
ceives a corresponding valuation from others, 
and eventually reduces his actual worth to the 
price he has fixed. 

Vision is compounded of knowledge, plus 
imagination, plus desire, plus hope, plus faith, 
plus decision, plus definite purpose. Education 
is compounded of knowledge plus training, plus 
the will to know. The man who lacks the cour¬ 
age to make a start has already reached his 
finish. 

THE SECRET 

“If you think you’re beaten you are; 

If you think you dare not, you don’t; 

If you like to win, but you think you can’t, 

It's almost a cinch you won’t. 

If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost. 

For out in the world we find 
Success begins with a fellow’s will— 

It’s all in the state of mind. 

“If you think you’re outclassed, you are; 

You’ve got to think high to rise; 

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before 
You can win a prize. 

Life’s battles don’t always go 

To the stronger or faster man. 

But soon or late the man who wins 
Is the fellow who thinks he can.” 


Use what you have to get what you want. 

Act now, for indecision is the mother of failure. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


49 


VAIN ENDEAVOR 

“The people fret to beat the band, 

And all their actions show it; 

Though always in the Promised Land, 
They never seem to know it. 

“The rugged hills they want to cross, 
Where rainbows red may lead them, 

And things they have, away they toss, 

As though they’d never need them. 

“For gold they dig the hills away, 

When gold is shining ’round them: 

They hunt the joys when every day 

The blessings came and crowned them. 

“No need to pester time and tide 
For vain and foolish pleasures; 

The world is yours and at your side 
Dwell all its worthy treasures.” 


Achievement, of whatever kind, is the crown of 
effort, the diadem of thought. 

Many opportunities pass by while men sleep on 
their jobs. 

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, 
but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. 




50 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


THE TEST 

“What is a failure? It’s only a spur 
To the man who receives it right, 

And it makes the spirit within him stir 
To go in once more and fight. 

If you never have failed it’s an even guess 
You have never won a high success. 

‘•What is a miss? It’s a practice shot 

Which we must often make to enter 
The list of those who can hit the spot 
Of the bull’s eye in the center. 

If you never sent your bullet wide, 

You never have put a mark inside. 

“What is a knock-down? A count of ten, 
Which a man may take for a rest. 

It will give him a chance to come up again 
And do his particular best. 

If you’ve never been bumped in a rattling go, 
You have never come to the scratch, I know.” 


Providence always seems unkind to those who 
insist on chewing their pills. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


51 


Dream and Build 

Heroes of the ages past, 

Dreamed their dreams from first to last; 
Dreamed of danger, do and dare; 

In their castles in the air. 

All the wonders ever wrought, 

Through the magic realm of thought, 
Came from primal plans, up there 
In the castles in the air. 

So may dreams that come to you, 

Bring the things for you to do. 

Born, inspired, and fostered, where, 

You have castles in the air. 

Dreamer, dream the night away, 

Dream, but plan, and build today, 
Something lofty, strong and real, 
Fashioned from your dreamed ideal. 

— (F. B. Grimes.) 


Courage is just strength of heart, and the 
strong heart makes itself felt everywhere, and 
lifts up the whole of life, and enobles it, and 
makes it move directly to its chosen aim. If you 
were getting a salary of one hundred dollars 
per month and decided you wanted a two hun¬ 
dred dollar piano at ten dollars per month to 


He that rejects the Bible embarks without a 
friend, upon a ship without a helm or rudder, upon 
a sea without a shore, upon a night without a star 
or dawn, and upon a voyage without a destination. 




52 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


beautify your home and educate your daugh¬ 
ter, you would go to the store, even though you 
had not a cent, and order it; if your reputation 
is good, the merchant would say, “I will send it 
out tomorrow or Friday.” You would go home 
and say to your wife, “Our piano will be out 
Friday. It is a Johnson, made of mahogany 
and has a long seat, with a place for music. 
We’ll have some good times and Mary will 
learn to play.” 

Your little girl would say to her playmates, 
“Oh say, we’ve got a piano; it is coming Fri¬ 
day.” Notice you would all speak and act re¬ 
garding this piano in terms of present ownership. 
Still the piano would not actually be there in 
appearance, but it would be there in truth, for 
you would all have already entered into the 
enjoyment of it in actuality. 

You think and act in this way because you 
have faith that you can and will pay for it and 
also faith that the merchant has faith in you. 
You see it is all a matter of faith in the last an¬ 
alysis. If the merchant had no faith in you and 


Every man should read the Bible, he is wise who 
knows that God knows how he should live better 
than he knows himself. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


53 


you had no faith in his faith, and no faith in 
your own willingness and ability to pay, you 
would neither order the piano nor ever get it. 
Now the creative energy which gives life to all 
that has life in you, which indeed is all that is 
life in you, is more anxious that you should 
realize your vision than the merchant could be 
that you should have the piano. It desires to 
live more in and through you, it is indeed the 
source of your desires, and it gives you easier 
terms and a longer time, three score and ten 
instead of two years, in which to make payment. 

Why not then order large success now? Why 
not vision it, lay claim to it; expect it, feel that it 
is yours now? Know that it is yours, just as you 
do with the piano. Say to your wife, “Our suc¬ 
cess is large. It consists of a fine mansion, an 
automobile, a seashore cottage, a large and 
growing business, some fine paintings, a trip 
abroad, and great usefulness in the world. I 
have already picked it out, ordered it and given 
the specifications. Some of it is coming up this 
week and the rest is under construction.” Why 


Preparation is the best prayer for success in any 
undertaking. 

Take fast hold of instruction;let it not go: 
keep it: for it is thy life. 




54 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


not say this and feel it in the present tense and 
enter at once into the actual enjoyment of it with 
the same faith as in the piano deal? You are 
just as able to pay for it in the time given. And 
aren’t you willing? Haven’t you equal faith in 
your own worthiness to possess and reimburse 
society for all these things in a life time ? And 
haven’t you equal faith in the good judgment of 
providence? 

You have the rudiments of a Veer key within 
you. It may not be a perfect key, but you can 
gradually fashion it into greater perfection. You 
can develop it to as great perfection as you 
will. Decide that you will open all the gates 
and attain large success. If your chosen field 
be that of the profession of law, fix your eye up¬ 
on the position of Justice of the Supreme Court 
of the United States. If it be politics, upon that 
of United States Senator. If land transporta¬ 
tion, the position of president of the greatest 
railroad system. If it be merchandising, the 
ownership of another Marshall Field’s store. 
If finance, the president of the greatest bank in 
the greatest city. If agriculture, the greatest 
land proprietor. Nor does your age or condition 

Sin is bondage from which it is almost impos¬ 
sible to break away. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


55 


deserve any consideration. Moses was over 
eighty before he started to lead the Israelites 
to the promised land. Cato learned Greek 
after he was eighty. Socrates learned to play 
musical instruments after he was seventy-five. 
Plutarch began the study of Latin when over 
seventy. Franklin was over fifty when he be¬ 
gan his philosophical studies. Boccaccio was 
over thirty when he began the study of short 
story writing and became the greatest short story 
writer of all time. 


THE MAN COUNTS 

A plate glass front is not a store, 
A farm is not the land. 

You may have instruments galore 
And still not have a band. 

No business ever higher soars 
Than he who runs it mounts, 
No matter what’s inside the doors 
It is the man who counts. 


Do not think it wasted time to submit yourself 
to any influence which may bring upon you any 
noble feeling. 

For character is more valuable than intellect. 




66 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


IT CAN BE DONE 

“Somebody said that it couldn't be done, 

But he, with a chuckle, replied 
That “maybe it couldn't,” but he would be one 
Who wouldn't say so till he tried. 

So he buckled right in, with the trace of a grin 
On his face. If he worried, he hid it. 

He started to sing as he tackled the thing 
That couldn’t be done—and he did it. 

“There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done. 
There are thousands to prophecy failure; 

There are thousands to point out to you, one by 
one. 

The dangers that wait to assail you. 

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin, 

Then take off your coat and go to it; 

Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing 
That ‘cannot be done’—and you’ll do it.” 


He who has the power to do something that will 
lift humanity and does not do it, robs the world of 
that which God intended to give the world through 
him. 




HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


57 


“If you were meant for bigger things, 
The way you work will show it. 

No matter where a genius sings, 

The world in time will know it. 

“Ability cannot be kept 

Long from its proper station. 

More than one cotter’s lad has swept 
A path across the nation. 

“The chance is always waiting for 
A bold and honest thinker, 

But life holds neither hope nor scope 
For quitter, bluff and shrinker.” 


Do all the good you can, 

By all the means you can, 

In all the ways you can, 

In all the places you can, 

At all the times you can, 

To all the people you can, 
As long as ever you can. 




58 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


“The man who quits has a brain and hand 
As good as the next; but he lacks the sand 
That would make him stick, with a courage stout, 
To whatever he tackles, and fight it out. 

He starts with a rush, and a solemn vow, 

That he’ll soon be showing the others how; 

Then something new strikes his roving eye, 

And his task is left for the bye and bye. 


“It’s up to each man what becomes of him; 

He must find in himself the grit and vim 
That brings success; he can get the skill, 

If he brings to the task a steadfast will. 

No man is beaten till he gives in; 

Hard luck can’t stand for a cheerful grin; 

The man who fails needs a better excuse 
That the quitter’s whining ‘What’s the use?' 

“For the man who quits lets his chances slip, 

Just because he’s too lazy to keep his grip. 

The man who sticks goes ahead with a shout, 
While the man who quits joins the “down and out.” 


There is nothing so kingly as kindness. Noth¬ 
ing so royal as truth. 





HOW TO OVERCOME IT 


59 


Afterword 

I will say before I close, I am glad that we 
live in a just and honest world, that has placed 
within the reach of everyone the material that it 
takes to make the key that will unlock the door 
of the treasure house of the world. When the 
man who lives in a mansion, has great wealth 
and many friends, would rush forward and take 
the best positions the world has; this old world 
says, the influence of living in a mansion, hav¬ 
ing wealth and friends, does not make the key 
that opens the way to success. For we find as 
we scan history, the world has selected for its 
highest positions people coming from the most 
obscure places. I hope that every reader of 
this book will gather together the material which 
it takes to unlock the door that shuts him away 
from all the things which are intended to make 
him happy. 


Life without endeavor is lik^ entering a jewel 
mine and coming out with empty hands. 




60 


THE CAUSE OF FAILURE 


“But, it takes a lot of ambition 
And a perfect self control, 

And some grim determination 
If you want to reach a goal. 

It takes a deal of striving, 

And a firm and stern set chin. 

No matter what the battle, 

If you're really out to win. 

There’s no easy path to glory, 
There’s no rosy road to fame 
Life however we may view it, 

Is no simple parlor game: 

But its prizes call for fighting, 

For endurance and for grit, 

For a rugged disposition 

And a ‘don’t-know-when-to-quit.’ 

You may take a blow or give one, 
You must risk and you must lose, 
And expect that in the struggle 
You will suffer from a bruise. 

But you mustn’t shirk or falter. 

If a task you once begin, 

Be a man and face the battle, 

That’s the only way to win.” 


You will find as you look back upon your life, 
that the moments that stand out above everything 
else, are the moments when you have done things 
in a spirit of love. 















































How to reach the goal 


First, you must have a goal. 

SECOND, you must travel toward it. 

Third, do not stop until you have reached 
it, for if you do someone will pass you, and take 
the goal that you hoped to reach. 

FOURTH, aspire to a high goal, for work 
never rises above aspiration, ability never towers 
above work, and people never fill positions 
above their ability. The school boy does not 
know the multiplication table after reading it 
over once, neither does the musician hold his 
audience spellbound with the piece of music 
he has practiced but once, therefore I hope you 
will not cast this book aside until you have read 
it over and over again, and have found the 
cause of failure, and learned how to overcome 
it. 


Things you want to remember 







Things you want to remember 




Things you want to overcome 


i 






Things you want to overcome 




Remarks 






Remarks 














\ 


Remarks 



























Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proo 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Dec. 2004 


PreservationTechnologie 

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